BurkeChangers

Change Our Community
June 8th-11th 2025

It's time to change Burke County!!

BurkeChangers 2025 JUNE 8-11

CRBA / BCYM

BurkeChangers

Mission Week

$ 25

Donation Amount

For info on applying
for a ramp contact:

Download or Play OLD Promo Video

tinyurl.com/BurkeChangersPromo23

Please register your Church, Ministry, or Group as a BurkeChanger partner ASAP! $100 Non-refundable Group Registration Fee. This fee covers all administrative costs, so that we can keep the participant cost down to only $50 per person! You also need to register each participant & pay the $50 fee by May 11th - PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION DEADLINE Make sure that you register prior to the deadlines, so that we can order t-shirts, plan appropriately to accommodate everyone, and to prepare for all of our worksites. Thank you! PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION: May 11th. MANDATORY Crew Chief Training & Job Assignments May 10th from 8am - Noon @ CRBA Office / build ramp on location TBD (Rain date: May 24th) *Lunch provided!Read More


  • Date: 6/8/2025 06:00 PM - 6/11/2025 08:00 PM
  • Location: 1812 US Hwy 70 East, Morganton NC, 28655 (Map)
  • More Info: BURKE CHANGERS HEADQUARTERS @ Catawba River Baptist Association Office

 
Add your BurkeChangers Pics
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Schedule of Events image
BurkeChangers Schedule:

Crew Chief Training - Sat. May 11th 8am - noon 
@ CRBA Office  = Build ramp on location - TBD 
Lunch provided! (Rain date May. 25th).

SUNDAY (EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR KICK-OFF SERVICE!!)

6-8pm - Meet @ Burkemont - BC Information / Worship / Message / Invitation / Gospel Training / Divide into Crews / Prayer (Dismiss Crew Chiefs, Supervisors, and Runners / Crew Encouragers after introductions at worship time)

Worship Order:
6:00 - Welcome
6:03 - Prayer -Student
6:05 - Week Schedule Overview /Dismiss Leaders to training
6:15 - Worship - Band
6:30 - Message / Invitation
7:00 - Evangelism Training for
7:20 - Future Events Promo /Prayer
7:25 - Move to FLC to meet with Crews: (Evangelism Practice / Prayer)
8:00 - Dismiss


MONDAY

8:00 am - Meet @ CRBA for Instructions / Prayer & Send-off
Noonish - Lunch on site
3:00 pm - Leave Site / Showers
6-8 pm - BBC Family Park & Pizza


TUESDAY

8:00 am - Meet @ CRBA for Instructions / Prayer & Send-off
Noonish - Lunch on site
3:00 pm - Leave Site / Showers
6-8 pm - Block Parties @ Church Locations
BBC Family Park, H


WEDNESDAY

8:00 am - Meet @ CRBA for Instructions / Prayer & Send-off
Noonish - Lunch on site
1:00 pm - Leave Site
1:30pm - Meet @ Catawba Meadows Pavilions (Sunset Slush)
3:00 pm - Dismiss for showers
6-8 pm -Meet @ El Bethel for Dinner & Worship Celebration

Wed. Worship (EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR CELEBRATION SERVICE!!)

7:00 - Recap video / Welcome
7:05 - Worship
7:15 - Message: WOW Moments / Your Story for His Glory!
7:35 - Invitation
7:40 - Recognitions / Promotion of Future Events
8:00 - Dismiss
mandatory participant registration forms! image
CONTACT CRBA OFFICE  TO REGISTER YOUR GROUP OR YOURSELF AS AN INDIVIDUAL!

                       YOUTH PASTOR / CHURCH PARTICIPATION CHECKLIST

CREW ROSTER COVER SHEET TO BE TURNED IN ON TOP OF ALL FORMS

                     STUDENT or ADULT PARTICIPATION CONSENT FORM
                is REQUIRED for everyone to PARTICIPATE in BurkeChangers!


 Dates to remember:
MANDATORY ADULT PARTICIPATION CONSENT FORM w/ BACKGROUND CHECK CONFIRMATION  

MANDATORY STUDENT PARTICIPATION CONSENT FORM

*ALLAdultsMUST  have cleared a Background check w/ Participating Church!

ALL FORMS MUST BE COMPLETED & RETURNED WITH PAYMENT TO:
THE CRBA OFFICE LOCATED AT:  1812 US 70E MORGANTON, NC 28655
Young people in Burke collaborate for community service blitz - JASON KOON News Herald Correspondent
Around 140 teenagers and adult leaders across Burke County capped off the summer with a three-day mission and service blitz called Burke Changers.
Held Monday, Aug. 14, through Wednesday, Aug. 16, Burke Changers was sponsored by the Catawba River Baptist Association, a cooperative network of 68 Southern Baptist Churches in Burke County. Teenagers from nine CRBA churches completed 14 home access ramps and held three neighborhood block parties during the three-day campaign. They also enjoyed an evening of pizza and skating together and culminated the three-day campaign with a worship service on Wednesday evening.
The Rev. Eddy Bunton, minister of Student Ministries and Missions for Burkemont Baptist Church and worship coordinator for Burke Changers, said the event has evolved over the last three years, particularly in the planning and training phases.

“We learned to start planning earlier in the year,” Bunton said. “It has also grown from a couple of youth pastors with some vision to growing into a team that covers all kinds of logistical challenges.”

He said the planning process for this year’s event began eight months ago when the leadership team met for the first time. From there, leaders began engaging other teams to take the lead in various areas of the project, including food, block parties, material delivery, site preparation and crew leadership.
“Instead of just a few people, it has embraced many people to the point that one of our crew chiefs comes from Florida,” Bunton said. “He served with World Changers when they were here and built relationships with us, so he and his wife changed their schedule to come be a part of this.”


This year, Bunton said it took around 60 to 70 people from more than 15 churches working behind the scenes to bring Burke Changers to life. This collaborative spirit is also being passed down to many of the student participants.
“This year, I was able to write the group devotions, and then students on the crews lead the devotions during lunch,” Bunton said. “It’s been great because the students get a chance to practice leading.”

In another change this year, the association leaned more heavily on Foothills Service Project, a Burke County faith-based non-profit that builds more than 200 free access ramps annually, to coordinate the work.
The Rev. Greg Klapp, minister of Children and Families for Burkemont Baptist Church and co-director of Burke Changers, said Foothills Service Project has been involved since the beginning. This year, however, the organization coordinated all 14 Burke Changers service projects. Klapp hopes the three-day blitz will be the genesis of lasting partnerships between local churches and Foothills.

“By doing this, it’s introducing a lot of youth ministries to Foothills,” he said. “We’re hoping this opens up people’s eyes to see ‘we can make a difference, and we don’t have to wait for a big event to take place. We can partner with the people doing this all the time.’”

As for the mission behind the event, Klapp said it remains as focused as ever — to share Jesus by loving and serving the community. He said it’s important for young people to be part of something impacting the community like Burke Changers.

“Students don’t just want to show up to show up,” he said. “They want to have an impact. They want to make a difference, and this is the perfect opportunity for them.”

Many participating group members said they appreciate the opportunity Burke Changers has given them to make an impact.
“I love that we’re able to build connections with these people who can’t always get out of the house,” said Jessica Henson, an El Bethel Baptist Church youth group member. “I’m glad I did this. It’s been cool watching and building connections with Miss Ophelia.”
Ophelia Cantrell and others on the receiving end of the work are also hearing this message loud and clear. Cantrell said she was overwhelmed with gratitude for “her angels” who built her new ramp.

“God’s doing a work for me, all around me,” said Cantrell. “I knew when I seen them, I said, ‘those are some good people,’ and God sent them to me … God is so good to me.”
She said the new ramp will make a huge difference for her.

“I’ve had so many problems with my health,” Cantrell said. “I have been limping and limping up and down these steps … I prayed, and I prayed, and now I see the effects of God’s prayers.”
Henson said she feels like getting to know Ophelia has been more of a blessing than anything she could have done in return.
“Yesterday, we were about to leave, and we prayed,” she said. “I grabbed Miss Ophelia’s hand, and it was a moment where we could feel God, and we could just share our belief in God.”

https://morganton.com/news/local/youth-ministries-collaborate-on-local-service-projects/article_014c4552-e68c-11ec-b8d5-6357a6a3a754.html

BurkeChangers in the News Herald

IN THE NEWS HERALD imageIN THE NEWS HERALD imageIN THE NEWS HERALD image
BurkeChangers in the News Herald

Jason Koon Staff Writer
More than 180 teenagers and adult volunteers from more than 15 churches around Burke County banded together for the week to minister to local residents.
The Catawba River Baptist Association (CRBA), a network of 66 Burke County churches, organized the second annual Burke Changers missions camp June 6-8. The local camp started in 2021 to fill the void left when World Changers, a national faith-based missions camp, folded in 2020, in part due to economic hardships surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. World Changers had hosted mission camps in Burke County from 2016-19, bringing nearly 300 students from across the southeast to the area each summer.
To fill this void, CRBA leaders scrambled to hold a similar event in 2021 which drew 115 students. According to Robby Smith, director of missions for the association, the event this year has grown to include more churches, more students and two extra service projects.
To help organize the work, the association has once again enlisted the help of Foothills Service Project. Started in 1997, by the late R.L Icard, Foothills Service Project builds approximately 200 access ramps a year for Burke County residents over the age of 60, according to Executive Director Scotty Donnelly.

Donnelly and Project Coordinator Andrew Whisenant worked all last week contacting homeowners, measuring and organizing supplies to get ready for the groups.

“We’ve already picked out the projects and (Andrew) makes a rough drawing of it so we can make a materials list,” said Donnelly. “Then we go through and make detailed drawings of each project so the crew chiefs know exactly what they’re building.”

In addition to building access ramps, Smith said the groups also helped with yard work and painting and they spent time walking through neighborhoods praying for and offering to pray with residents.
“We’re praying for the people behind those doors,” Smith said. “We still believe prayer is one of the most powerful tools we have to help people.”
Smith said the goal for the week was to be a blessing to as many people as possible.

“We’re trying to be the best churches for the community,” Smith said. “We want to be a group of churches that want to help make our community better. That’s why we’re out, not only sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, but putting hands to those prayers. We’re trying to meet needs.”
Each evening, the missions camp concluded with a special event for students and community members. On Monday, the students enjoyed a night of skating and pizza. On Tuesday, students hosted five community block parties in different location throughout the county. According to Smith, the block parties were open to everyone in the community and featured inflatables, live music, free canvas tote bags and two bicycle giveaways at each of the following locations:

  • Mount Home Baptist Church, 2272 Mount Home Road, Morganton.
  • Fisher Mobile Home Park, 5125 Crawley Dale St., Morganton; hosted by Burkemont Baptist.
  • Walker Road Baptist Church, 100 Walker Road, Morganton.
  • Valdese Housing Authority, 1402 Lydia Ave., Valdese; hosted by East Valdese Baptist Church.
  • The Historic Courthouse Square in Morganton; hosted by Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church.
On Wednesday, El Bethel Baptist Church hosted a barbecue dinner and closing worship service giving the students and adult volunteers an opportunity to look back over the three days of ministry. Eddy Bunton, student ministries pastor for Burkemont Baptist Church and one of the event’s organizers, said people who received help and their neighbors were invited to join them on Wednesday.
“We’re celebrating something we call ‘Wow moments,’” Bunton said. “Every day, on their sites, students are going to be looking for what we call a ‘wow moment’ which is where we’ve watched God do something through our crew, in our neighborhood or on our project. It’s anything noteworthy we can give God credit for.”
This highlights one of the major reasons event organizers and participating churches said they wanted to stay in Burke County instead of taking mission trips to other communities.
“The whole idea is to get tools in students’ hands so they can learn how to serve and hopefully grow with that through their lives, and also give them an eye to not just go away to serve somewhere, but to realize that there are people in our own neighborhoods,” Bunton said.

He said a ministry like this also gives leaders an opportunity to include every student who is interested.
“When you do something locally, you’re not having to worry about housing or how you’re going to feed everyone,” he said. “Because it’s not a travel trip and it’s not a huge expense, it lowers that baseline so there’s no one excluded.”
Whisenant hopes the projects helped the students see that everyone has something they can offer.
“Sometimes students don’t know that they have a talent until somebody gives them a drill or a hammer to do something with it,” Whisenant said. “And they say, ‘wow, this is actually fun, I can do something to help.’”

                                                       CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN THE NEWS HEARALD
 burkechangers   -      june 2nd-5th, 2024 image
BurkeChangers 21 Praise report:

4 Salvations:
- Home Owner
- Block Party Attendee
- Two Participating Students

1 Called into Ministry

8 Handicap Ramps
1 Roof Repair / Porch Access
1 Painting Job
Tons of clean up projects
4 Community Block Parties
Lots of Gospel Conversations

PRAISE GOD!!!

A new 'PERSPECTIVE'
An attitude of 'HOSPITALITY'
All for the 'GLORY' of God!

Dates set for 2024 - June 2nd-5th

CRBA / BCYM

BurkeChangers

Mission Week June 8th-11th 2025

  • Catawba River Baptist Association 1812 US Hwy 70 East Morganton NC, 28655

Robby Smith

CRBA Missions Strategist

BurkeChangers Logistics Director

Read More  

Greg Klapp

CRBA Youth Team Leader

BurkeChangers Creative Tech & Publicity Director

Read More  

Veronica Klapp - CRBA Ministry Assistant

BurkeChangers Registration Coordinator

Sherrie Miller

BurkeChangers Assistant Director

Jonathan Puckett

BurkeChangers Project Coordinator

Eddy Bunton

Burke Changers Worship & Devotion Coordinator

Braxton Ervin

BurkeChangers Crew Encourager Coordinator

Cameron King

BurkeChangers T-Shirt Distribution Coordinator

Justin Cunningham

BurkeChangers Celebration Night Coordinator

Ethan Cromer

Block Party Coordinator

Rick Hazel

BurkeChangers Church Meal Coordinator

Carol Hazel

BurkeChangers Asst. Church Meal Coordinator

The CRBA (Catawba River Baptist Association), Foothills Service Project, and BCYM Network (Burke County Youth Ministry) are partnering together with area Churches, Ministries, and Business partners to Change Burke County

Hands-on mission service in Burke County:
Local CRBA & Burke County Youth Ministries and Adults (construction skills and unskilled adult help needed) Serving Burke county and making a difference one home at a Time.

About Us imageAbout Us image

BurkeChangers Partner

Scotty Donnelly

FootHills Ex. Director

Andrew Whisenant

Project Coordinator

CALL: 828-437-0137

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Burke
Changers
Promo Video Download